The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has emphasized the importance of collaboration and deep understanding in the fight against corruption.
EFCC Chairman Ola Olukoyede stated that building strong partnerships with stakeholders is crucial to achieving sustainable success in tackling economic and financial crimes.
Olukoyede made this statement at the 2025 EFCC Media/Civil Society Organisation’s Capacity Building Workshop in Abuja. He urged civil society organizations and media professionals to join forces with the EFCC in driving the preventive framework of the anti-corruption fight.
“The media and civil society organisations, no doubt, are very critical to the work of fighting every form of economic and financial crimes and other acts of corruption,” Olukoyede said. “The nexus between the media and civil society organisations is very strong, they are like the right ear and left ear of the same horse, they have a shared mandate exposing shadiness and integrity deficit in individuals and groups across the country.”
The EFCC chairman emphasized that preventive measures are more potent and socially beneficial in fighting corruption. “If we wait until the money is stolen, the assets are stolen and everything is stolen before we now embark on recovery drive, there is no way you can recover all,” he said. “But if there are modalities in place that will safeguard the stealing of the money, the looting of the treasury or any other thing that any fraudulent people may want to do, then we will be able to save the society from all of these losses.”
Olukoyede also warned against unrealistic and jumbo offers, cautioning that “when it is too good to be true, please don’t do it”. The EFCC has been working to remove Nigeria’s name from the list of non-cooperating countries and territories of the Financial Action Task Force.
The workshop aimed to broaden understanding and public grasp of how to tackle economic and financial crimes. Speakers included Dele Oyewale, EFCC Spokesperson, and Sam Agbi-Enahoro, an officer from the cybercrime section, who discussed cryptocurrency fraud and emerging financial crimes.
The EFCC Chief of Staff, Michael Nzekwe, appreciated the effort of the media and civil society in playing vital roles in the fight against economic and financial crimes. “Nigeria is the greatest beneficiary of the work that we all do and sometimes there can be pressures here and there, but in all of that, always put the nation and EFCC first,” he said.
